New to tucker: I just bought these two classic tuckers at a local auction. I have looked at these two machines since I was a kid and have been fascinated about owning something like them one day. The local government put them up for auction and I was lucky to win both of them. I would appreciate an honest opinion about their value and the rarity of these two machines. The machine on the left is a 1968 with the original Chrysler 6 banger and 2,800 miles. It has steel pontoons and starts and moves great. The interior in both is not great but it’s all there. The one on the right is a 1959 also with the original engine. The miles read 10,000+ but it starts and runs with no problem. As you can see, the “59” has the fiberglass pontoons and an extra set has been included. The two were maintained by the county road department and used to maintain the relay stations for TV. The rollers and track seem to be in good order but I will know more next week when I take possession of them. I am very excited to own these two fine pieces and look forward to restoring them soon. Any help on restoration parts will be greatly appreciated.

I have no idea what you paid, but great find. They both appear to be clean and wrinkle free which is kind of rare. Your '59 certainly came with steel pontoons from the factory. When they finally wore out the county probably just opted to switch to the fiberglass ones. It's also very likely that when they made that switch (and got a spare set of pontoons as well) they may have bought new track as well??? If so, that would make it much more valuable since track replacement parts are VERY difficult to find- especially rollers. I don't even dare throw a number up there for value. Running & moving probably $5 - 7K each? But the tracks are the absolute key to value for them.

There is a ton of information on this section of the forum and in the restoraton section in particular. So, don't rush, look at all of the other work done on them and welcome to the insanity!

It made me smile:-) We picked them up for a little less than that but we still wanted them even if we paid more. We knew their history and records for the last 25 years and we love their look. Now the fun begins!!! We are trying to contact the guy that worked on them at the county yard and see if there are any extra parts (rollers, track...) We also picked up a truck that was made to haul them. I'll post pictures when we get them to our yard.

Congratulations on a great buy! Getting both was totally the best thing to do. As I'm sure you are aware,you can swap for rubber tracks at some point if it seems worth your time and money; but my friend has been running his with the steel forever. Keep us posted on how they work for you.

Looking at that last pic on the '59, the track was replaced at the same time as the pontoons. The connecting links haven't even been bent for adjustment. So as long as the rollers were greased regularly, you're golden.

Straight up track swaping to rubber would be very expensive and I'm not sure if Tucker offers the option to do it anymore?? Mtn-Track bought a unit with rubber tracks and then made the conversion. Here's some motivation for you: http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=41808

Thanks for the info. guys! MTN-Tracks’ cat looks great! The truck was a great bonus for us. They used it to transport these units about 5 miles out of town and route to get to the TV towers is longer than what they transported them. I doubt that the all-wheel drive was used much. A little paint will go a long ways on all these units.

Well, we lucked out and everything started right up and runs! We loaded both units on the transport truck and took them to their new home. The track bars and rollers on both units have been well maintained and are in very good shape. The county was able to find a pickup truck load of extra track parts (not rollersL) and the tools to tighten the track. The extra pontoons have been used before but very little. We think that someone at the county figured that these things were hard to come by and bought them used for extra parts. Now the work begins!

Take care of the roller bearings - grease them often and keep the tracks covered if you don't store them inside.
You're going to learn quickly that the rollers are worth their weight in gold and nearly impossible to find.

Have fun with your Tuckers!

__________________Mark

1953 Tucker 443

Formerly owned - '61 Tucker 443A, '63 Tucker 443A, '78 Tucker 1642

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